Sergio Leone
Sergio Leone ( Rome , January 3 1929 - there, April 30 1989 ) was an Italian film director . He is best known for directing such classics as The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966), Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) and Once Upon a Time in America (1984). Content * 1 Biography * 2 Leone's influence * 3 Trademarks ** 3.1 content ** 3.2 Visual ** 3.3 Music * Filmography 4 Biography Sergio Leone was born in 1929 in Rome, the son of the experimental filmmaker and pioneer Vincenzo Leone and actress Francesca Bertini. He began writing screenplays in the 50s and went to work at Cinecitta studios in Rome. Due to the low production there were many American films included in the Cinecitta studios: as Leone worked as assistant director for the filming of the film classics High Noon (1953) and Ben-Hur (1959). Leone made his debut in 1960 as a solo director when he was during the filming of Gli ultimi giorni di Pompei replaced the diseased director thereof. This recording, however, was still standing in the name of the sick director. In 1962 Leone made his first feature film Il collosi di Rodi. His big breakthrough, however, came with A Fistful of Dollars , the first film with Clint Eastwood . This film was not the first spaghetti western , but the first one was very successful. The unique way of filming and editing, the slow pace and the overwhelming music of Ennio Morricone , the surreal, apocalyptic design and the combination of extreme violence and black humor would be characteristic of all other spaghetti westerns. The success of the film led to two sequels. For a Few Dollars More (1965) and The Good, The Bad & The Ugly (1966). Both films had Clint Eastwood and starring both perfected the style Leone in the first film had been used. The three films form the Dollar trilogy of Man unnamed trilogy. Using his successes he directed in 1968 C'era Una Volta Il West ( Once Upon a Time in the West ). Ultimately, this masterpiece, combined with the music of Ennio Morricone, become a global success and an example for almost all western movies that were made afterwards. Then he directed Duck You Sucker (1971), a film set during the Mexican Revolution. But making this film was marked by all kinds of problems: the producer had final control over the assembly and changed the film against the wishes of Leone. The title was changed at the last minute in A Fistful of Dynamite . Leone eventually distanced himself from the project and the film flopped mercilessly. Hereafter made Leone My Name is Nobody (1973), a comedy western in which he took his own directing style and the style of spaghetti western on the heel. He also hit the offer The Godfather off to make something where he was later publicly regretted. Disappointed about the many problems in the world of film, Leone made no films in the following years more and he kept himself only with film distribution and advertising films. In 1984 he made the epic gangster movie Once Upon a Time in America . This enigmatic, almost 4 hour film had an open ending and was told almost entirely in flashbacks. While Once Upon a Time in America was praised by critics and gained a huge cult status, the film was not a great success. Just before his death he drew up plans for a new film about the siege of Leningrad . However, he could not start it. Leone's influence [ edit ] Leone directed only seven films. Nevertheless, he is considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. This is mainly due to its influence on films from other readers: * Leone is considered the father of spaghetti western . This is a subgenre within the western genre consisting of westerns that were recorded by Italian filmmakers in Spain. The actors are mostly Italian or Spanish and have a slightly tinted of allowing them to play Mexicans. Characteristic of spaghetti westerns is that they are considerably more violent, dark and were more realistic than their American counterparts. Because they often contain a minimal story with lots of action spaghetti westerns are seen as the forerunners of modern action movies. * Leone had a typical directing style characterized by an unorthodox assembly, strange camera work, little dialogue, lots of atmosphere, slow tension followed by rapid action and a notable presence of music and sound. This unique style was revolutionary and many other filmmakers have tried to imitate. In that respect Leone has had an enormous impact on the film grammar. * The Spaghetti Western Orchestra , gave him the pseudonym of Bob Robertson . In their presentation they play the music of Ennio Morricone . Other famous spaghetti western directors are: * Sergio Corbucci * Sergio Sollima Trademarks [ edit ] The content [ edit ] * A minimal story. The story is a story Leone always subordinate to the design and is often built around the action scenes. Leone himself admitted that he first conceived the scenes and only then the story. Even Once Upon a Time in America is much less complicated than it appears. Leone's films are really all one by one style exercises and no storytelling. * Opera-like drama. Leone was of Italian descent and an avid opera lover. Actually, every film is a sort of mini-opera. As with operas are the (simple) stories of Leone's films filled with themes such as death, violence, betrayal and revenge. The loaded and always prominent music by Ennio Morricone actually performs the vocals of operas and design with long coats, hats and grotesque gestures typical opera. Once Upon a Time in America (1984), even the whole narrative structure of an opera. * A minimum of dialogue. And if there are dialogues are often strong-liners. Sometimes there is still one character who does talk a lot, but he never gets response from the main characters. (As Tuco in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly always talking to Clint Eastwood.) * A pessimistic worldview. Everyone is corrupt and hate each other, no one can be trusted and the protagonist is hardly better than his opponents. * A historic setting. Every film of Leone plays in the past now and especially in the later films, he did everything to let these historical period to life as much as possible. Locations, clothing, decorations, weapons, takes into account the most minuscule detail. Many of his films are set against an important development in the history of influencing the behavior and lives of the characters, for example, the demise of an era. All films of Leone are more or call more epic. edit * One of the most striking features in Leone's style of camera perform is his penchant for close-ups of faces. In every film of Leone are dozens of extreme close-ups of faces looking at each other.Leone used the face to say things without words, in combination with the music knew the viewer exactly what emotions did the character at that time. Sometimes more than 10 seconds Leone keeps his camera focused on a person who looks expressive without saying anything. The character looks angry, bitter, sad, desperate or just freezing ahead. Leone had a fondness for, as he said himself: Faces that were landscapes, striking faces, or rather faces with typical features such as wrinkles, scars, pimples, stubble, sweat, etc. The faces of actors look at Leone always dirty , rugged and desolate out. * Besides faces are also other objects in the films of Leone from close filmed. Examples include a hand gripping a pistol, a fly crawling on the cheek of a crook, feet running while ringing the tracks, a close-up of an eye, etc. This extreme close-ups alternate with huge total shots filming the same events from a great distance. Always this total shots are filmed from an unusual point of view: for example, low to the ground, through the bars of a garden gate, behind a net curtain, from the roof of a building, etc. Leone plays constantly with the contrast between close-up and overall shot.. It is always near-far-near-far and which is built at a rapid pace. * Another feature is the build-up to a scene increasing. In many of his scenes is building much more important than the key moment. The characters sometimes sit for minutes waiting for something to come. Or they are minutes followed while they walk to the place to fight. This build-up scenes are often accompanied without music and with great attention to small natural sounds (eg. Footsteps), the voltage is increased slowly and carefully. The actual act where all that time was built to contrast occurs precisely rapidly. Eg. you first see minutes how two people walking towards each other, then they shoot each other in just seconds. * Crane shots in crowd scenes. A camera rises high above the characters to get an overview of a great event, such as a battle, a mass execution, a railroad that is set up or a fly-over of a western town. Music * Each character 'carries' a special melody that accompanies him in the scenes in which he appears. Filmography * Gli ultimi giorni di Pompei (non-credited) ( 1959 ) * Il Colosso di Rodi ( 1960 ) * Sodoma e Gomorra (non-credited) ( 1961 ) * Il Cambio Della Guardia (non-credited) ( 1963 ) * A Fistful of Dollars (Per un Pugno di dollari) ( 1964 ) * For a Few Dollars More (Per Qualche Dollaro in Piu) ( 1965 ) * The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il Cattivo) ( 1966 ) * El Magnifico Extranjero ( 1967 ) * Once Upon a Time in the West (C'era Una Volta Il West) ( 1968 ) * A Fistful of Dynamite (Giu 'la Testa) ( 1971 ) * Il Mio nome è Nessuno (non-credited) ( 1973 ) * Un Genio, Due Compari, Un Pollo (non-credited) ( 1975 ) * Once Upon a Time in America ( 1984 ) Category:Italian film director Category:1929 births Category:1989 deaths